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Post by skybright on Nov 4, 2007 0:02:59 GMT -5
Daws grinned and nudged his shoulder playfully. "Can't argue with that."
Padre chuckled and turned to Shatter and Blur. "What about you, ladies? What sort of work d'you have in mind?"
Shatter grinned. "Better not put me behind the bar -- my voice does funny things to glass when I get too close. Waitin' tables'd probably be easier on the overhead."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 4, 2007 0:24:02 GMT -5
"No problem with that," Sid replied.
The discussion was briefly halted as a tall, tanned young man with black hair came hurrying up the sidewalk.
Sham folded his arms. "So there you are, Thorn."
"Yeah." Thorn winced slightly. "I'm sorry I'm late. I couldn't find a babysitter. Mister Latimore finally offered to watch Dylan for me."
Vance choked. "Rog? Rog and a kidlet? Oh, that's it, it's the end of the world!" He had dissolved into laughter by the end of the sentence.
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Post by skybright on Nov 4, 2007 0:33:09 GMT -5
Daws laughed brightly. "Ten to one the place is a crater within the hour. Poor Roger."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 4, 2007 22:19:15 GMT -5
"I'll have to drop in on his place and mock him after we're done here," Vance remarked shamelessly. "I couldn't miss this."
"Did I miss anything?" Thorn asked the other Spooks.
Sham shook his head. "Not really. The Big Boss here--" he chucked a thumb at Sid--"just laid out the ground rules and some of the work. He's still lookin' for somebody to cover some bartending shifts."
"I can do that," Thorn offered. "I tended bar for a couple years before I wound up in Spooktown."
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Post by skybright on Nov 4, 2007 22:49:16 GMT -5
Blur ducked her head, grinning shyly. "I could bartend or wait tables, either one. I mean . . . I don't exactly have much experience, but I like people, and I could learn. I think."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 4, 2007 23:17:27 GMT -5
"That's no problem," Sid assured her, with an encouraging smile. "A coupla people from my club'll be around for a while, ta help ya settle inta the job, an'--"
"Hey, wait a minute," Sham interrupted. "Nobody said anything about us having to have a buncha norms around."
Sid glowered at Sham. "At least one of 'em ain't, an' the other couple've got mutant family an' friends. An' it's temporary. The whole point a' my doin' this is ta set you Spooks up with a good business of your own--but if yer gonna be any success fer your people, you got a lot ta learn about runnin' a joint."
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Post by skybright on Nov 4, 2007 23:23:09 GMT -5
Shatter shrugged. "Sounds like a fair enough deal to me. I wasn't expectin' ya to just turn us loose right off."
Blur grinned. "I think the repair bills would be a little too high if he just turned me loose right off."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 4, 2007 23:31:50 GMT -5
Sham snorted. "You can think what you like--but I'm not forgetting these are the people who brought Nocturne down on us."
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Post by skybright on Nov 4, 2007 23:45:58 GMT -5
Daws growled. "Hey, now, if we're gonna start throwing stones over that particular event . . ."
"Daws," Father Rick interrupted bluntly, "Cool it. The front steps of my church aren't the place for you two to go at it."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 4, 2007 23:50:06 GMT -5
"Things happen," Thorn said somberly. "They were trying to do a right thing that went wrong, and from what I hear, they've been going outta their way to try to make up for it."
He paused, then added hesitantly, "Maybe in some ways it was for the best, anyway. I never did think we were going to get anywhere staying in Spooktown."
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Post by skybright on Nov 4, 2007 23:55:09 GMT -5
"I sort of agree." Blur tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I mean . . . well, it wasn't Spooktown I was staying around for. It was the Spooks." She raised her chin. "Doesn't matter where we live, does it? That's still what we are."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 5, 2007 23:28:18 GMT -5
"Not if these people and everybody else get their way," Sham muttered. "The world doesn't want us for neighbors, but they don't want us livin' outside their little norm system, either--and this bunch is no better for trying to do both."
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Post by skybright on Nov 6, 2007 19:34:50 GMT -5
Shatter grunted and crossed her arms. "I'm not crazy about what happened, but it's in the past. I don't see you or anybody else leadin' the crusade to rebuild on the ashes, so as far as I can see our best bet at stayin' together and stayin' who we are is to give in a little -- and this bunch is willing to help us do that."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 6, 2007 23:36:50 GMT -5
Sham rolled his eyes slightly and folded his arms.
"At least now our people aren't jumping through hoops for Nocturne just to get scraps from his table," Thorn said fiercely. "I never went along with that. I guess maybe some of our people'll still find enough trouble to get into on their own, but at least we won't be playing around on the edge of a total war between mutants and norms."
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Post by skybright on Nov 6, 2007 23:41:06 GMT -5
"I never liked the way Tiernan treated our people, anyway." Blur said quietly. "Like we weren't even worth his time, except for dirty work."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 6, 2007 23:56:23 GMT -5
"Believe me, I wanna give you folks a square deal," Sid said earnestly. "Maybe I'm just a norm, but my daughter's a mutant. I know it's tough. I wanna see all of ya have a good life."
He paused, cleared his throat, then glanced down at the portfolio on his lap. "Uh... There does gotta be some official stuff ta this, though. I gotta deal with taxes an' everything. I've fudged some of it how I could, but when it gets down to it, I'm not gonna duck the law. So, uh..." He shrugged. "There's some forms an' things."
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Post by skybright on Nov 7, 2007 0:01:35 GMT -5
Blaze shrugged. "S'fine by me. I've filled out W-2's and things once or twice. It's been a while, though."
Blur looked a little panicked. "Uh . . . well, I haven't. I don't mind, but . . ." she laughed nervously. "I never had a real job before, y'know."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 7, 2007 0:14:10 GMT -5
"Oh, it ain't so bad," Sid murmured, shuffling through the papers in the portfolio. "I got some connections, so if anythin' comes up that's a real problem, I might be able ta work it out. On the quiet--I promise."
He paused. "Uh--I think I heard you folks refuse ta go by your birth names, though. I was kinda hopin', well--maybe if ya'd make an exception fer this..."
"You're not getting my old norm name," Sham growled. "That's not who I am anymore."
Sid frowned... and then smirked faintly. "Have it your way. If ya don't gimme a name, I'll just havta give ya one myself--whether ya like it or not." He grinned at Daws and Vance. "Any suggestions, guys?"
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Post by skybright on Nov 7, 2007 0:26:12 GMT -5
Daws grinned wickedly. "Oh, I could think of all sorts of names, Sid. I've spent the last ten years havin' people give me ridiculous aliases instead of their real names -- I could draw on them for inspiration."
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Post by Jordanna on Nov 7, 2007 22:03:32 GMT -5
Sham scowled and hunched his shoulders. "Call me whatever you want on your papers--I won't answer to it anyway."
Thorn shrugged. "I don't mind having my old name on the papers. But Sham's sort of got a point--might be best calling us by our Spook names at work, 'cause by now we've all half-forgotten what people used to call us."
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